People in Terra, governing a bizarre little country

"Ruined!"

Hinterlea pressed her hand to her chest, feeling her heartbeat with ease, as if she had left her heart outside.

Clearly, she lacks a sense of security.

In addition, there's the irresistible charm she's displayed before...

Aaaaaaahhhhh! We're doomed!

Hinterlea lowered her head, hugged her head, and fell into a sullen state.

Ernst looked at her, somewhat puzzled, then glanced at Swire, and said blankly:

"What's up with her?"

Swire shrugged and quoted a classic line from the Arthurian legends:

"I don't know, and I don't understand people's hearts."

Chapter 418 An Encounter at the Champion Memorial Hall

Ernst didn't know what Hinterlea was worried about, but anyway, as soon as she got back to the hotel, she locked herself in her room and said she wanted to try a different style.

This ruined Ernst's plans.

Since he didn't have a match scheduled for today, he wanted to go out for a walk or shopping with Hintraya.

While Kazimir may not excel in many ways compared to other countries, it does have its strengths, particularly its well-developed capitalism.

Compared to other Terran countries where entertainment is limited to upper-class parties, banquets, masquerade balls, and the like, Kazimierz does indeed have a wider variety of goods and entertainment options. Moreover, these goods and entertainment options are not limited to a particular class but are available to the general public of Kazimierz citizens.

Why is capitalism more progressive than feudalism? A crucial reason is that it has greatly liberated productive forces. And what is a major characteristic of this liberation of productive forces? To use a line from an ancient poem by Ernst, it is: "The swallows that once graced the halls of the powerful now fly into the homes of ordinary people."

Having had the rare opportunity, Ernst also wanted to take a walk and see the sights of Casimir.

While I wouldn't say it was all for the public good, there was certainly some personal motive involved.

Since the merchandise in Sherag wasn't very extensive, Ernst noticed Hinterlea's envy of Schweitzer's outfit and decided to spend some money to buy some clothes, food, and equestrian merchandise to bring back to Sherag as employee perks.

Unfortunately, Hinterlea didn't seem to want to go out.

With a somewhat helpless shrug, Ernst had no choice but to go out alone.

The streets of Kazimierz are bustling, and most of the people walking on the streets are the native Kazimierz race, the Kuranta, or ponies. However, due to the World Games, Ernst has also seen more people of other races.

The more conspicuous Caprini and Elafia tourists mostly wore dark Letanian-style dresses or long skirts to signify their status. Some tourists from Colombia dressed more casually and modernly, even though it was late autumn and approaching winter, they still wore short sleeves and capri pants, crop tops and hot pants, highlighting a boldness that prioritized style over warmth.

Ernst admired them greatly, but wondered if they could maintain their composure if they went to Sherag.

Ugh, I really want to pack all these people up and take them to Shelag! So many tourists, I'm so envious!

Ernst pursed his lips and followed the signs toward the square of the Champions Memorial Hall.

Kazimierz Knights Association, Champion Memorial Hall.

This is an exhibition hall commemorating the champions of the knightly competition throughout history. The names and portraits of the knights who won the Grand Prix will be hung on the walls for future generations and visitors to admire.

Presumably to expand the influence of the knightly competition, the Commercial Federation unusually stipulated that the exhibition hall itself would not charge admission, but if you planned to offer flowers to the knight's portrait, you would still have to purchase the flowers at the front desk.

When Ernst entered the memorial, there weren't many visitors. Most of them were Leitanians.

The people of Kasimir aren't really interested in memorials and the like. When someone wins a championship, it might be lively for a few days, with a bunch of locals coming with their devices to take photos and "witness history." But at other times, people who have free time to visit memorials aren't interested. And those who are interested in visiting memorials... well, is Banga finished yet?

In contrast, the main visitors to the memorial are people who want to see something new and learn about the history of knightly competitions, as well as Leitanians who consider visiting the memorial to be a more "sophisticated" experience.

The layout of the venue is also quite obvious. The portrait of the Black Knight, the champion of the 19th, 20th, and 21st editions, is hung on the wall that can be seen as soon as you enter. Clearly, as the biggest contributor to the true "breakthrough" of equestrian sports, the Commercial Federation has not been stingy in giving her a "memorial tablet".

The flowers below her portrait are also the most numerous.

In the middle, the portrait of the 22nd champion—the Radiant Knight Margaret Nearl—had vanished. It was naturally removed by the Business Federation. As a criminal "exiled" by the National Assembly, Margaret was certainly not allowed to have a place for people to admire and worship.

If it weren't for Lin Guang's immense wealth and influence, making her indelible in the history of Kazimierz, the Business Federation might have wiped the name Margaret "completely" from every corner of Kazimierz.

In any case, there was only an empty wall there.

Beside it, the portrait of the Blood Knight has been hung up, and there are quite a few flowers below it.

Ernst examined the Blood Knight in the portrait and found it difficult to connect the serious-looking, imposing, and even somewhat intimidating figure in the portrait with the rather easy-going and gentle-natured man with the chubby hoof.

This is probably the persona that the business association created for him.

Ernst was just about to turn back to look at Kazimir's past champions when he heard the sound of armor clashing behind him.

He turned around, and a tall, red figure had already brushed past him and arrived in front of the Champion Wall, in front of the empty spot for [Radiant Knight].

Staring at the empty wall, he remained silent for a long while, then suddenly turned his head towards Ernst and asked:

Where did the Pegasus go?

His spoken English was not very fluent and he stuttered a bit, but it was barely recognizable as Kasimir.

Ernst had done some cramming recently and managed to understand those few simple words. He gave the man in front of him, who was half a head taller and whose face was hidden behind a blood-red, distorted mask and hood, a somewhat strange look, and replied:

"It's been removed."

The voice paused, as if searching for the right words, before continuing to ask:

"why?"

"She was infected, made a mistake, and was exiled."

Ernst tried to pronounce each word carefully, and this time, he clearly understood it faster, but unexpectedly burst into laughter:

"Heh, how foolish!"

“Exiling Pegasus, you Casimir people, how arrogant.”

He looked at Ernst and asked:

Where should I go to find her?

Ernst blinked, intending to say, "I don't know." But then another thought occurred to him, and he asked instead:

"There aren't many people looking for her these days, why are you looking for her?"

"Find her, fight her, defeat her, conquer her, and complete my heavenly journey!"

Without a moment's hesitation, the man declared to Ernst in unusually fluent Casimir.

Clearly, this wasn't the first time he'd repeated this statement, and judging from how far he'd come, he was either misunderstood or misled.

"So, you know where she is?"

Ernst blinked, pondered for a moment, and shook his head:

"I can't tell you."

Ernst certainly had a clue about Margaret Nearl's whereabouts.

Rhodes Island, where else could it be?

In the limited amount of story he knew, Margaret had made an appearance as a Rhodes Island operator.

But Rhodes Island was Seraphim's partner, and Kal'tsit was his best Terra encyclopedia. The man in front of him seemed interesting, but interesting often meant "trouble," and Ernst had no intention of getting his friend into trouble.

His target was Margaret, and what he wanted to accomplish was a "heavenly path." Ernst seemed to have seen this word before in an ancient book preserved at the Manjusin Academy, but he couldn't quite remember what it was about.

But no matter what, the words "confrontation," "victory," and "conquest" clearly carry a strong sense of warlike fervor, so I'd better not use them.

Unexpectedly, after receiving Ernst's reply, the mysterious red-armored man did not press or interrogate him further. Instead, he remained silent, his eyes, seemingly appearing from nowhere behind the strange mask, gazing at Ernst for a long while before finally turning his head and saying calmly:

"My name is Tora."

"If you're ever willing to talk about it, please find me and tell me. It really matters to me!"

"Thank you."

"Goodbye."

After he finished speaking, he strode away from the memorial amidst the clanging of armor, leaving Ernst somewhat stunned.

Hey, did I make a mistake?

This young man is quite polite!

Chapter 419 Kal'tsit: I'll say it twice!

"Have you heard? The two teams representing Victoria are really playing fiercely!"

"Yeah, that swordswoman from the Windermere team is terrifying. I've never seen that kind of fighting style before. Is she really courting death?"

"But it's so cool, isn't it? 'I am the swordsman of Windermere, the sword of Victoria! Fiona Young, member of the Stormtroopers, from the moment you served the Duke of Caesar, your siege spear no longer represents Victoria!' Wow, that's so cool! This feeling of directly denying the other party's position and asserting that I am the only one who can do it is so much cooler than all those fancy opening lines that the Business Federation comes up with!"

"They're handsome, but does anyone know who's actually stronger, the Windermere Sword Guards or the Stormtroopers?"

"Needless to say, the Windermere Sword Guards will wipe out the Storm Assault Team in no time!"

"What are you talking about? It ended in a draw! Fiona wasn't even serious! If she had been serious, the Storm Assault Team would have wiped out the Sword Guards in no time!"

"........"

"Enough talk, let's fight!"

Seeing that the two were about to start fighting, Ernst, who was sitting by the window in the cafe, picked up his ceramic cup, took a small sip, and the slightly bitter taste immediately invigorated him.

These two Casimirians had absolutely no idea about the origins of the Duke of Windermere's swordsmen and the Victoria Stormtroopers, yet they still managed to launch into a lively cricket-fighting debate, which was even showing signs of evolving from a literary contest into an offline solo match. It was quite an interesting spectacle, to say the least.

Indeed, no matter the world, the era, or the people, cricket fighting remains an enduring hobby.

Unfortunately, Ernst was unable to listen further to the two guests' argument because he was being interrogated by a terrifying old lynx.

Kal'tsit coughed, and her slightly resentful gaze forced Ernst to shift his attention back to her.

"Please don't get distracted, Ernst. I'm asking you a very serious question!"

"Please answer me honestly and with your conscience: have you really been watching the games faithfully all this time and haven't done anything else?"

Ernst touched his right chest with his left hand and nodded solemnly:

"I haven't done anything up to this day, so please rest assured, Dr. Kal'tsit."

Kal'tsit stared silently at Ernst, her eyes seeming to say, "Since you know I'm a doctor, do you think I wouldn't know where the heart is?"

Ernst, somewhat unable to withstand her gaze, clicked his tongue, switched hands, and said again:

"I feel like I didn't do anything, really."

Kal'tsit nodded solemnly, then let out a cold laugh:

"You didn't do anything, yet the Lich King's Court came after you?"

Ernst, not to be outdone, answered with great certainty:

"Mr. Fremont said I have a strong odor, which is understandable, and I'm helpless about it. Kal'tsit, you didn't tell me before you left that the Sarkaz can identify people by their aura!"

"I......."

Kal'tsit's words caught in her throat.

She was going to say that when she introduced the Sarkaz race to him, she should have already covered the basic facts.

But upon closer reflection, she hadn't actually mentioned this point.

The ability to identify individuals by their own kind's aura is actually quite uncommon. Firstly, most Sarkaz are not particularly close to other races and don't leave easily identifiable "auras." Secondly, accurately discerning this information requires a certain level of skill.

To put it simply, the Blood Court, one of the ten Sarkaz royal courts, has a long-standing tradition of certifying friendships: when gaining a friend from another race, they would "stamp" their seal to assert their sovereignty over the other Sarkaz. It's worth noting that the Blood Demons of the Blood Court are theoretically a race exceptionally sensitive to auras, but even so, stamping is a traditional skill they possess.

Even Kroos and Warfarin of Rhodes Island, although they are used to identifying friend from foe by their name tags rather than their aura, still possess and retain their seals—albeit as props for signing and stamping.

Clearly, if Sarkaz's nose were really that sharp, wouldn't this operation be redundant?

The main reason Kal'tsit didn't bring this up was because she felt that, given Ernst's current position, letting him know "too much" wouldn't be beneficial for him. Especially regarding Sarkaz-related matters, Kal'tsit was very careful about what she said. She kept secrets about things like the Sarkaz leader, or how he became the ruler of the royal court, fearing that Ernst might develop inappropriate thoughts about them if he found out.

In hindsight, she was indeed overthinking it.

Whether she says it or not, Ernst has his own ideas.

In retrospect, this matter has become my problem?

Feeling a tightness in her chest, Kal'tsit quickly took two deep breaths to make sure she wouldn't faint immediately.

After calming herself down, she gave a serious suggestion:

"The Lich King's Court is one of the more worldly of the many courts in Sarkaz. They don't have much prejudice against ordinary people, and relatively speaking, they are less dangerous. But that's only relatively speaking!"